© 2024 Kansas City Public Radio
NPR in Kansas City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Heart Surgery Goes 'Very Well' For 'Little Darth Vader'

We've got good news to pass along regarding the open heart surgery performed Thursday on seven-year-old Max Page, the child actor who captivated viewers as "Little Darth Vader" in a 2011 Volkswagen commercial.

"The surgery today went very well," Max's surgeon, Dr. Vaughn Starnes, says in a statement posted online by Children's Hospital Los Angeles. "We went in to replace his pulmonary valve, which we did without incident. Max is in the cardiac ICU and recovering very well."

Max is expected to be in the hospital another three days or so.

Our earlier post about Max and his surgery is here. And if you need a lift this morning, the VW ad is here.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.
KCUR prides ourselves on bringing local journalism to the public without a paywall — ever.

Our reporting will always be free for you to read. But it's not free to produce.

As a nonprofit, we rely on your donations to keep operating and trying new things. If you value our work, consider becoming a member.